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W. N. MILSTED. `PREPAYMEBVI' GAS METER. No. 526,251. Patented Sept. 181894.

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PREPAYMENT GAS METER. 1

110.526,251. Patented Sept. 18, 1894.

WITNESSES (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. Ng MILSTED. PREPAYMENL GAS METER.

No. 526,251. Patented sept. 18, 1894.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

W. N. MILSTED.

PRBPAYMBNT GAS METER. NO- 526,251- Patented sept. 18, 1894.

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l UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE."

WILLIAM N. MILSTED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

PREPAYMENT, GAS-METER.

SPECFICATIONAforming part of Letters Patent No. 526,251, dated September18, 1894.

` i Application led April 30, 1894. Serial No. 509,504.. (No model.)

' ments in gas meters in which automatic vending mechanism is used, sothat a user of gas may purchase a certain amount `of gas by simplyplacing a coin in a receiver, which is so connected to the meter as toallow a certain number of feet of gas to be used for a given amount. Forinstance in the mechanism which I will proceed to describe, theapparatus is arranged to receive silver quarter dollars, and theapparatus is s0 connected to the meter mechanism that, for instance, ifthe gas is selling` at one dollar and twentylive cents a thousand feet,the mechanism would be so timed that upon the insertion of the quarterdollar, two hundred feet of gas could be used before the mechanism ofthe meter would be stopped, and the meter shown in the drawings is soarranged that live quarters can be fed into the apparatus, so that onedollar and twenty-live cents worth of gas, or one thousand feet, can bepaid for at one time. By this means a person can pay for gas in smallinstallments, rather than wait until the sum accumulates, and more carewill be taken in using gas.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l, is a front view of sufficient ofa meter illustrating my invention. Fig. 2, is a sectional plan Fig. 3,is a sectional elevation on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. section o n the line 44, Fig. 8. Figs. 5 and 6, are perspective views of details of theinvention; and Figs. 7, 8 and 9, are views of modiiications of portionsof the apparatus.

Ais the meter casing of the usual construction, having a dial plate B onwhich are the` dials for the feet, indicating the measurement bythousands, tens of thousands and by huudreds of thousands. I alsoprovide an extra dial b, showing the number of cubic feet paid for andnot used by the purchaser. The hand o on ashaft C, indicates the numberof feet not used.

While I have shown in the` drawings the Fig.4,isa

dial b as extending only to one thousand feet, it may be differentlyarranged, and include more or less than o ne thousand feet. The shaftCfhas at its opposite end, within the meter casing, an arm C bearingagainst a sliding worm D adapted to a squared or "other polygonalsectioned or splined shaft D mounted in bearings a a. on the indexplate. This worm gears with a pinion e on the shaft E ofthe indicator ofthe one thousand feet dial, as shown in Fig.` 1. The shaft D is turnedby l`a coin lcontrolled mechanism, so that when a quarter dollar isplaced in position and the coin controlled mechanism turned, it willturn the shaft D', and as this shaft turns the worm D will be fedforward, the pinion e acting as a fixed nut for the worm.

It will be understood that I may, by introducing suitable wheels betweenthe shaftK2 and shaft D', turn the latter in the reverse direction whennecessary, without departing from iny invention.

\ As the worm is fed forward on the shaft, in the direction of the arrowFig. 3, it will also move the arm C in the direction of the arrow, andthis arm being adapted to the shaft C, will move the hand o in thedirection of `its arrow to the two hundred point, and as the gas isused, the shaft E of the indicator mechanism will move in the directionof the arrow and push the worm D on the shaft back to its normalposition, and the arm C on the shaft C will follow, as a spring c tendsto keep the arm always against the end of the worm D.

In order to arrest the operation of. the meter when the worm has reachedthe limit of its rearward movement, I pivot an arm F on a bracket aprojecting from the index plate `and one end f of this arm has atendency to Ido the bellows cannot move their full distance,`- Y and thevalve mechanism controlled bythe dag rod cannot throw its full distanceand consequently the meter will stop measuring and the supply of gaswill be cut off.

A spring pawl f4 pivoted to the arm f of the lever F, will yield whenthe shaft D is turned by the insertion of a coin, so that the arm f ofthe lever F will be pushed out bythe worm D, and the arm f of the levermoved clear ot' the arm g of the liag wire, allowing the meter tomeasure a certain quantity of gas.

The coin operating mechanism I prefer to use, is clearly shown in Fig.3, and consists of a box H, secured to one side of the meter, and in thebottom of this box is a money receptacle h confined to the box by a barh', which is pivoted at h2, and through which passes the staple 'h3secured to the body of the box. A lock can be readily applied to thisstaple.

Other means of fastening the money receptacle within the box may be usedwithout departing from my invention.

In the upper part of the box is a coin slot t', and directly under thetop of the box is a disk I, having a coin slot i', and provided with ahandle i2, by which it is turned. This disk is mounted on a verticalstud J secured to a bracket J', which is attached to the side of the boxH. When a coin is inserted in the slot in the disk I, the disk must bemoved in the direction of the arrow to the discharge point to register,and then must be returned in the reverse direction. It cannot be turneda full turn in the direction indicated, as it will be stopped by aprojection h4 on the casing, striking a projection 'i4 on the disk.

Directly under the disk I is a disk K, having a coin slot 7a, which mustalign with the coin slot t" in the disk I, and with the coin slot t' inthe casing "before a coin can be inserted, and when a coin is insertedas shown in Fig. 3, the coin itself locks the disk Ito the disk K, andthey both travel forward together to the point of discharge, which inthe present instance, is in the opposite side of the casing, as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 4, and full lines in Fig. 3. This disk K is fixedto the hollow shaft K', to which is attached the bevel gear wheel lawhich meshes with a bevel gear wheel k2 on the shaft K2 extending intothe meter, and this shaft K2 has a gear wheel k3, which meshes with awheel d on the shaft D', so that when the disk K is turned the shaft Dis'also turned to an extent dependent upon the manner in which the diskis geared to the shaft, so that the worm will be fed forward therequired distance.

The hub of the wheel 7c has la ratchet 104, to which is adapted a springpawl 705 pivoted to the frame J. This pawl prevents the wheel loreturning with the disk K. The disk K is connected to the hollow shaftK', through the pawl Z carried by the disk, and ratchet Z carried by theshaft, so that while the shaft K must travel forward with the disk, K,it

will be held from returning by the pawl 105 and the pawl Z on the diskwill pass freely over its ratchet. The depending portion t3 on the diskI on its return movement, strikes against the projection Z2 on the diskK, so that the disk K will be returned with the disk I, and both will bestopped in proper position directly under the slot Z in the case, by thestop h4, as shown in Fig. 4.

M is a plate mounted on the shaft K, and fixed to the casing byapinjtapped into the bracket J and extending into one of the holes minthe plate, as shown in Fig. 5. This plate has a coin slot m and a lug m3adapted to stop the rotation `of the disk K a lug on the disk coming incontact with the lug m3, when the disks I and K are turned, so thattheir coin slots will align with the coin slot in the plate and the lugand coin carrier meet, the coin will be released from the disks I and K,and fall into the receptacle through the coin slot m. On the upper faceof this plate M are ratchet teeth m2 with which the lower edge of thecoin engages, so that as it is fed forward, it passes over .theseratchet teeth, but cannot return owing to the teeth, so that a usercould not turn the apparatus backward and forward. The plateM can beadjusted by setting the pin j in any one of the different holes,according to the price of gas. If the plate is now set for gas at onedollar and twenty-live cents a thousand feet, and if the gas is lessthan one dollar and twenty-tive cents a thousand feet, the plate isturned so that the distance between the coin slot i and the coin slot mwill be greater,

but if it is more than one dollar a thousand feet, the plate will bemoved so as to shorten the distance between the two coin slots.

On the edge of the plate M, as shown in Fig. 5, are a series of numbers,indicating the price of the gas at that point, and in the casing H is asight hole h5, closed with glass or it may simply have a cover, or maybe covered in any suitable manner. This will indicate to what point theplate M is set.

In Fig. 7, I have shown a modification of the mechanism within themeter, dispensing with the traveling worm or screw, and substitutingtherefor a fixed worm D2 on the shaft D" ,which engages with a wormwheel n having an internal gear n engaging with a pinion pon an armploose in the shaft E. This pinion in turn gears with a toothed wheel n2fast to the shaft E. The shaft C carrying the hand c is geared to thesleeve of the arm p by segments q q', so that when the shaft D isdriven, the arm p will be driven in one direction Yby the gears n n andp, but when the meter is working, the arm p is moved in the oppositedirection through the gears n2 and p, the teeth fn. acting as a fixedrack.

The pivoted lever F is actuated by an independent segment attached tothe arm p.

In Fig. 8, I have shown a modification of this gearing, in which the armp carries two gears secured together, one less in diameter IOO ' with asmaller gear on the shaft E, while the small gear meshes with a largergear wheel I which is driven by a worm D2 on the shaft D.

In Fig. 9, I have shown the same arrangement, using bevel gears, the armp carrying thebevel gear Wheel p2, and this bevel gear wheel meshes withthe wheels ots and n4, the wheel n3 being driven from the shaft Dthrough the bevel pinion 'm5, and the bevel wheel n4 being driven by theshaft E.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination of the coin receptacle, the`disk therein adapted to be rotated on the insertion-of a coin, a shaftextending from the coin receptacle into the meter and driven by thedisk, ashaft D" geared to said driven shaft, supply controlling gearinggeared to said shaft so as to feed forward when a coin is inserted,registering mechanism also geared to said supplycontrollinggeariugandadapted to drive it inthe reverse direction, with a stop armcontrolling the movement of the ag wire, and controlled by the supplycontrolling gearing, so that when the supply of gas paid for isexhausted, the arm will prevent the meter from acting, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the coin receptacle,mechanism driven through the coin inserted, a shaft D geared to the saidmechanism, a worm adapted to slide on'the said shaft, registering mechanism, a pinion of said mechanism geared to the worm, a spring armbearing against the worm tending to keep one side of the thread of theworm always in contact with the teeth of the pinion and thus preventlost motion, substantially as described.

3. The ycombination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the registeringmechanism having a thousand feet indicator, a shaft driven in onedirection when the pre-payment is made, a screw adapted to slide on butturn with said shaft, a pinion on the shaft of the thousand feetindicator acting as a nut when the screw is turned and acting whenturned to slide the screw on its shaft, substantially as described. Y

4:. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the coin` receptacle,mechanism therein driven through the coin inserted, a shaft K2 geared tosaid mechanism andextendinginto the meter, a shaft D geared to the shaftK2, a worm adapted to slide onthe said shaft D', registering mechanismgeared to the worm, a shaft C having an arm bearing against the worm,and a hand adapted to travel over a dial, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the coin receptacle,mechanism driven ou the insertion of the coin, the shaft K2 geared tosaid mechanism, and extending into the meter, a shaft D geared to theshaft K2, registering mechanism, supply controlling gearing geared tosaid mechanism and to the shaft D', a pivoted leverE` engaging with thesupply controlling gearing, flag wire, an arm thereon adapted to beengaged with the lever F, so that when the lever engages with said armthe meter will be stopped and the supply of gas cut off, substantiallyas described.

6. The combination of the coin receptacle, driven mechanism therein, ashaft K2 driven by said mechanism, and extending into the meter, a shaftD geared to said shaft K2, a worm D adapted to turn with, but slide onsaid shaft, registering mechanism geared to said worm, a shaft Ccarrying an arm bearing against the end of the worm and carrying anindicating hand, a pivoted lever F controlled by the movement ofthe'worm, flag wire, an arm thereon, with which the lever will engagewhen the wormvis returned to its full limit, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a pre-payment gas K, a slot therein, so that whenthe coin is dropped through the slot in the casing, and

into the slots in the disks I and K, it will lock the two diskstogether, and on turning the disk I the supply controlling-gearing willbe fed forward the proper distance, and when the coin reaches the slotin the plate M, it will fall into the coin receptacle, substantially asdescribed.

8. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the registeringmechanism, the supply controlling gearing geared thereto, a coinreceptacle, slotted disk I, a handle therefor, a slotted disk K directlyunder the disk I', and geared to the supply controlling gearing throughthe medium of pawl and ratchet mechanism, so that on feeding thediskforward, it Will drive the said gearing, but will gearing,substantially as described.

9. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the coin receptacle,the slotteddisks Iand K, and a xed plate M 'having a slot through whichthe coin may pass, a locking. pin j adapted to lock the plate M at anypredetermined point, so that the coin inserted in the receptacle willhave more or less travel, substantially as and for the purpose setforth. l0. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the coinreceptacle, the slotted disks I and K adapted to receive the coin, aslotted fixed plate M through which the coin is discharged, a rack m2 onthe face of said plate over which the coin travels, so that when thecoin is inserted into the slots in the disks I and K, the coin acts as apawl in conjunction with the ratchet teeth on the plate, M, so as toprevent the return ofthe disks until the coin isdischarged,substantially as described.

ll. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the slotted disks Iand K, the slotted plate M, a pin j adapted to any one of the se- IOOIIO

ries of holes in the plate, so that it can be adjusted to make the cointravel a greater or less distance, said plate having numbers on its edgeindicatingthe price per thousand feet of gas the plate is set to, anopening in the casing with which the said numbers register,substantially as described.

12. The colnbination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the coin receptacle,the handled disk I slotted for the reception of a coin, a disk K, avertical spindle J, a disk mounted on said spindle, a coin slot in saiddisk, a lug on the disk K engaging With a lug on the disk I, so that thetwo disks will return together, a hol- 10W shaft mounted on said spindleJ ,a ratchet on said shaft, paWl on the disk K engaging with saidratchet, a gear wheel on the shaft meshing with a gear Wheel on thedriving shaft, extending into the meter, a ratchet wheel, and a paWl ona ixed portion of the apparatus to prevent returning of the shaft withthe return of the disk K, a fixed plate M having a coin slot throughwhich the coin passes into the receiving box, supply controlling gearinggeared to the driving shaft, eX- tending into the meter, and registeringmechanisxn also geared to the supply controlling gearing, substantiallyas described.

13. The combination in a pre-payment gas meter, of the coin receptacle,slot in the top thereof, a slotted disk I directly under the top, aslotted disk K directly under the disk I adapted to be driven by thedisk I through the medium of a coin, a lug on the casing adapted toengage with a projection on the disk I, so as to prevent its beingturned a full turn in either direction, a fixed slotted plate M directlyunder the disk K through which the coin is discharged, a lug m3 on thesame 4to control the movement of the disk K by contact with the coincarrier k, supply controlling gearing geared to the disk K, registeringmechanism also gearing with the supply controlling gearing,substantially as described.

In testimony Whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM N. MILSTED.

Witnesses:

EDITH J. GRIsWoLD, HUBERT HoWsoN.

